IPNews-Monrovia,Liberia-21 June 2018: President George Weah has dismissed controversial deputy director for Administration at the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), Sebastian Gibson from his post.
Mr. Gibson, who was once dismissed from the DEA by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for acts of impropriety in 2015.
With that, Gibson has set an unenviable record of becoming the shortest serving presidential appointee—and the first to be dismissed in the CDC-led government for allegedly repeating acts of impropriety at the LDEA for which he was previously dismissed.
Information about Gibson’s latest dismissal by Weah circulated this week following President Weah’s announcement of a new batch of nominations to include one Michael Zehyoue who was appointed to the post of Deputy Director of the drugs agency, thus effectively replacing Gibson whose dismissal was not publicly announced.
It can be recalled that on May 7, 2018, Sebastian A. Gibson took office at the LDEA after being nominated by the President in early April 2018, but was not confirmed until he was dismissed on Tuesday, May 19 2018.
His relatively short stint at that agency, according to sources, came as a result of some “unwholesome acts” committed at the LDEA in which he is said to have been involved while his confirmation was yet pending at the Senate.
According to sources, Gibson, following his assumption of office on May 7, 2018 is said to have plunged the entire entity in disarray by removing competent employees from their positions and replacing them with individuals that are reportedly connected to the sale of harmful drugs in the country.
“On that very day, May 7, Gibson suspended and subsequently replaced the entire finance section of the LDEA with new employees, who sources said, have no knowledge or expertise in financial matters.
Gibson is also reported to have demoted and transferred all senior staffers from the administrative department, a decision which his then deputy for operations and now director-general designate, Marcus Soko and the Minister of Justice, Musa F. Dean, did not support, but Gibson stoutly refused budge, sources told the Daily Observer
Gibson’s earlier dismissal in the Ellen Sirleaf regime was in line with prescribed penalties for violations of the LDEA’s duty manual category D, count/Dot-17 and page 45 of the agency’s code of conduct.
He was among five officers of the LDEA dismissed in 2015 on allegations of constant bribe taking, which violates part-1, count 20.0 of its code of conduct of the act that created the LDEA. The affected officers were also charged with extortion from drug suspects, which is also in contravention of chapter 15 of section 15.51 of the penal law of Liberia, the agency said at the time.
Gibson was the deputy chief of training until his dismissal on September 1, 2015, by authorities of the agency following investigation which found him guilty.
Other officers that were dismissed along with Gibson were Prince Harris, chief of intelligence; Darius Davies, secretary to the Board of Internal Investigations and Professional Standards; Albert Hare, deputy chief investigator and Eugene Quiah, chief of operations then assigned in Bong County.
Gibson’s latest dismissal, according to sources, seemed to have been influenced by a powerful diplomatic mission that informed President Weah that they could not work with individuals with tainted characters. The diplomatic mission (name withheld) according to sources is said to have informed President Weah that Gibson, having been previously dismissed for acts of impropriety, was a stumbling block to the granting of further donor assistance by that powerful nation.
President Weah, according to sources, reacted by swiftly ordering Justice Minister Musa Dean to launch an investigation including a review of Gibson’s personnel file. The review showed that on Gibson’s personnel file was a letter of reinstatement, signed by then outgoing Justice Minister Frederick Cherue dated January 10, 2018, just five days shy of President Weah’s inauguration on January 22, 2018.
The communication at the time by former Justice Minister Cherue, ordered the reinstatement of the dismissed Liberian Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) official ( Sebastian Gibson), which raised eyebrows and questions in the public, bordering on ethical indiscretion, given the rather eleventh hour unprecedented action as an official in transition.
Mr. Gibson and four others were dismissed by the Drug Enforcement Agency on September 1, 2015.
According to the DEA, Gibson and the four others had violated Part-1 Count 20.0 of its code of conduct. The affected officers were also charged with extortion from drug suspects, which is also in contravention of Chapter 15 of Section 15.51 of the penal law of Liberia, the agency said at the time.
Until his dismissal on September 1, 2015, by authorities of the agency, Gibson was the deputy chief of training.
Other officers who were dismissed along with Gibson included Prince Harris, chief of intelligence; Darius Davies, secretary to the Board of Internal Investigations and Professional Standards; Albert Hare, deputy chief investigator; and Eugene Quiah, chief of operations assigned in Bong County.
According to the drug agency, Gibson’s dismissal was in keeping with prescribed penalties for violations of the agency’s Duty Manual Category D, count/Dot-17 and page 45 of the agency’s code of conduct. In its letter of dismissal, the drug agency charged him with extortion and bribery.
“You intruded into the home of Madam Amelia Gaye of Johnson Street where you intimidated, harassed and took bribe in the amount of L$6,000 and extorted US$1,000 respectively under the pretense of protecting her from the LDEA’s arrest and prosecution for her alleged involvement in the sale of illegal drugs,” Gibson’s dismissal letter said at the time.
He and other affected officers were ordered to turn over all properties in their possessions to the head of the human resource department, and to act accordingly by reporting in three days to the authorities after they were disrobed.
In a related development, Marcus Soko has been appointed Director General, Michael Zehyou, Who replaces Gibson as deputy director-general for Administration and Melvin Sarko as deputy Director-General for operations
